


On The Bench

by concretewasps (defenestratedplane)



Series: Tumblr Prompt Fills [2]
Category: Silicon Valley (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Anxiety Attacks, M/M, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-12
Updated: 2015-06-12
Packaged: 2018-04-04 01:24:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4121199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/defenestratedplane/pseuds/concretewasps
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Richard doesn't like going outside, but sometimes, good things happen there.</p>
            </blockquote>





	On The Bench

**Author's Note:**

> For the prompt "jarrich for sitting on the same park bench au"

Richard really didn’t like going outside. He supposed that fit a bit too well into the sheltered geek stereotype the brogrammers liked to tease him for, but he couldn’t help it. Inside there was temperature control, wifi, less threat of weird animals showing up to harass you… he just liked it better.

But.

Lately.

The air at Hooli seemed oppressive. He’d be trying to get work done when suddenly the wall would be too thick, too close, he’d feel a clawing in his chest and an overwhelming urge to _get out._  He ignored it the first few times; he knew he had an anxiety problem, and what was really so bad about being inside the Hooli building?

Apparently everything, because the next time he felt an attack coming on he couldn’t stand being inside anymore and ran as fast as he could out of the building. He didn’t look back to see if anyone was staring at him or even look ahead of him to see where he was going, as long as it was  **not there**.

He ended up finding a small park a few minutes’ walk from Hooli, and stayed there sitting on a somewhat secluded park bench for over an hour until he could get his breathing under control.

When he went back inside, he found that no one had really noticed he’d been gone in the first place. And while that might normally bring him down, he was glad, because it meant he could probably leave again if he needed to.

Which he did. Frequently.

He ended up liking the spot he’d found on that bench. It was out of the way, and had a nice view of the tiny park. It was also close enough to Hooli that he could connect his laptop to the wifi and work (or goof off) if he wanted to. It helped his anxiety far more than he thought it would.

He’d been escaping to that bench for over a week when he found someone already there.

The guy… was really skinny. He had a Hooli badge around his neck, and was dressed like one of the higher ups at the company. If he’d been in a better state of mind Richard would wonder exactly what his job was at Hooli but as it was, he began panicking that someone would know he was out here and he’d finally get in trouble for leaving his desk.

He was in turning around to try to hide somewhere else when the man spoke. “Oh, hello! I’ve never seen anyone else out here. Were you meaning to sit?”

And Richard could see so many ways this interaction could go wrong, but the guy had a weirdly friendly and calming voice, so he stopped moving and responded. “I… yeah, I was going to sit out here for a while. But I mean I can uh, I can just go…”

“No, there’s more than enough room! Please sit. I’m sorry if my presence is uncomfortable for you? If you want I can leave.”  


This guy was weird.

“N-no, I’m… good. I’m good. You’re right, there’s enough room, so I’ll just, uh, sit down then.”  


He struggled with himself to actually walk all the way over and sit next to this stranger, but he did it, and was only panicking just a little more than normal.

“I’m D… Jared, by the way.”  


“Ah, Richard.”  


And cue the uncomfortable silence. Although this guy, Jared, didn’t seem very uncomfortable; he was eating a sandwich and looking through several folders. Richard had no idea what to say, or if he even should say anything. He wishes he was better with people so he knew what to do in this situation.

“So what do you do here?”  


He could wait until his new bench-mate said something.

“Um. What?”  


“Oh, sorry, I meant at Hooli, since I saw you wearing one of our badges. I’m in business management; what do you do?”  


“Oh. Um, I’m just… a programmer. Nothing special… really…”  


“No, that sounds very interesting! I personally think the programmers at our company don’t get nearly enough credit, you all do incredible work.”  


Where did this guy even come from?

“Well… thanks. I’m sure um, your job is pretty hard, you must have worked a lot to get to where you are.”  


He looks over at Richard and beams and wow, he’s actually really attractive, what the hell. “That’s very kind of you.” He looks down at the folders on his lap and his smile falters. “To be honest, I do work very hard for this company, but I don’t know if anyone notices.” He clears his throat and looks back up at Richard. “So what brings you out here? I take my lunch breaks at this spot sometimes, but I’ve never seen you before.”

“I…” And Richard wants to lie and say that he’s taking his lunch here too, except he doesn’t have any food, and anyway Jared actually seems like a nice guy and he’s never told anyone else about his anxiety before so, fuck it, “I’m not really… out here when I should be, actually.”  


Jared looks a bit confused at that. It shouldn’t be adorable but it is. “Is this not your lunch, or your break?”

“No, I uh… I get these. Panic attacks. I guess. They didn’t used to be so bad but now they happen almost everyday and I can’t, can’t stay in that building anymore when they happen, so I just… ran out here about a week ago and found this bench and I’ve been using it to calm down.” He laughs and runs a hand through his hair. “That must sound so fucking stupid.”  


“I don’t think it sounds stupid at all, Richard.”  


“Really.” He looks at Jared and sees nothing but sympathy on his face. “You don’t think I should be back inside instead of slacking off out here?”  


“You’re not slacking off. Panic attacks are very serious, and if this helps, you should take advantage of it. I used to… Well. Here at least, I don’t have panic attacks, but I do admit I feel… uneasy. It’s why I like this spot for lunches sometimes, myself.”  


He wasn’t alone in not liking it here then.

“You should come work for me.”  


Wait, fuck. He hadn’t meant to say that out loud.

“Pardon me?”  


“I, I mean– I don’t have a company or anything, of course I don’t, why would I be working here if I did? But. But I have an idea. And I think that, if I keep working on it, it could, could, be something, you know? And then I’d have a company. So. Um. Yeah. If that happens, you should, uh… you should come work for me.”  


“Oh. I see.” And Richard knows he sounds ridiculous, god damn his  _word vomit,_  but- “I would love to.”  


“I. Um. Really?”  


“Yes! You seem passionate about your project, on wanting to go out on your own. I wish I could do that. If you ever do start your company… I’ll be there immediately to support you.”  


“Wow. Thank you.” This is the best he’s felt in he doesn’t even know how long, and they’re just sort of smiling at each other when Jared’s phone starts beeping in his pocket.

“I’m so sorry, but my lunch is almost over, so I need to go. But, wait,” and he starts gathering his things up except for a pen. “I’m sorry, this is so inappropriate–” and he grabs one of Richard’s hands and writes his phone number on it.  


This is not at all how Richard expected this encounter to end.

“I need to run back in but… this is my personal cell, call me or text if you ever want to talk about that business or…. other things. And I’ll probably see you out here again, yes?”  


“I– yeah. Definitely.”  


“Wonderful.” He clutches the folders close to his chest with one hand and waves with the other. “Goodbye Richard, I hope to hear from you soon.”  


Richard grins and waves back. “Bye, Jared.”

He’ll definitely be calling him soon.


End file.
